Street-car



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. H. NELSON.

STREET GAR.

No 353,878. Patented Dec. 7, 1886.

WITNESSES v LN'VEJV'TOR madam, KI Mum WZZLQJAJM Attorney 8,

(No Model.) a Sheets-Shet w. H. NELSON.

STREET GAR.

No. 353,878. Patented Dec. '7, 1886.

- INVENTOH Me K A TT OH/IIE Y UN TED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. NELSON, OF ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA.

STREET-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 353,878, dated December7, 1886.

Application filed June 7, 1856. Serial No. 204,402.

to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference markedthereon.

This invention relates to improvements in streetcars, the object beingto construct a car that in summer may have open sides, with the seatssituated transversely to the car-body, and in winter may have the seatssituated longitudinally to the same, with their backs arranged to form asubstitute for the car-sides,

the windows being above the upper edges of the backs, so that the car iseffectually closed.

The invention consists, mainly, in so constructing the seats and theirattachments that the former may be securely held in either of theabove-mentioned positions, and in forming recesses or receptacles in thebacks of the seats to receive the sashes when lowered, each sash whenraised resting upon a suitable flange or bead upon the upper edge of thecorresponding seat back, as shown in Fig. 4, this being the normalclosed position of the sash.

The invention further consists in the construction and novel arrangementof certain parts hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a vertical longitudinal section ofa portion of a street-car having the invention applied thereto with theseats arranged transversely. Fig.2 represents a side view of a portionof a streetcar having the seats arranged longitudinally, the back of oneseat being cut away to show its attachment to the body of the car. Fig.3 is a transverse section of the street-car shown in Fig. 1, on the lineX X thereof, and properly broken away to show the attachment of theseat. Fig. 4 represents the side view of a seat with the sash raisedfrom the casing thereof and in position to close the space above theseat. Fig. 5 represents a perspective view of one of theseats with allthe attachments thereupon, and Fig. 6 a detached perspective View of theeyebolt E and the arm D engaged therewith.

against which the seat rests.

(No model.)

Referring to the accompanying drawings by letter, A, Figs. 1, 2, and 3,designates the carbody resting on the wheels at, which body is providedwith the end platforms, at a, the step a on each side, and the roof of,supported by the side standards, B, the said parts being substantiallysimilar to the corresponding parts of the well-known open-sidedsummer-car. The invention differs from the latter, however, in havingits ends closed, the said ends being each provided with, as shown inFig. 3, a door, b, and windows I) b on each side of the same, like theclosed car used principally in winter.

O C are the seats, two of which, when placed end to end, are of justsufficient length to cross the floor of the car-body from side to side,as shown in Fig.3. Arranged thusin pairs, they form a suitable number ofrows of transverse seats, as shown in Fig. 1, which are held in positionby means hereinafter described. The rear surface, 0, of theback of eachseat conforms in contour to that of the inner surface of the standardsB, and the back of the seat is ofj ust sufficient length to extend fromthe middle line of any one standard to the middle line of either of theadjacent ones, the standards a being equidistant, as shown in Figs. 1and 2. Consequently when the seats are arranged longitudinally, withtheir backs against the standards, the lower portions of the spacesbetween the standards will be effectually closed.

Each seat has on the lower end of its back a rail or clip, 0', Figs. 1,4, and 5, which rests upon the car-floor and enters and fits between thestandards against which the seat rests, so as to aid in retainingthelatter in place. The upper edge of the back of each seat inclinesdownwardly from front to rear, or from within outwardly when the seatsare arranged against the standards, and is provided with a flange, 0',having the same inclination. The end of said flange bears against theshoulders 0 made on the inner surfaces of the standards The bearing ofthe flange against said shoulders aids in bolding the seat down on thefloor and keeping it in position. Each seat has secured to its undersurface a bolt-hook, D, Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 6, the vertical arm of whichscrews into the center of said surface, or into a re-enforcing stripsecured thereon, while the horizontal situated in relation to a seatthat when the latter is moved into the position shown in Fig. l the arm61 of the hook-boltD of the seat will have entered to its full extent inthe eyeboltE.

E E are eyebolts screwed into the car-floor, with their eyes at rightangles to those of the bolts-E, as shown in Fig. 1. These eyebolts E areso situated that when the seat is moved back against two adjacentstandards the long arm d is entered to its full extent. WVhen thehorizontal arm 01 of the ring-bolt D of each one of the seats is engagedwith the eyebolt E, as shown'in Fig. 1, the latter will be arranged inequidistant transverse rows, and the sides of the car will be openbetween the standards B. The ring-bolt E, besides holding the seats.down to the car-floor, prevents them moving laterally, so that theirmeeting ends cannot separate, and thus a continuous seat is made acrossthe car, and more seating room afforded.

Common staples or other equivalent devices may be substituted for theeyebolt, if desired or more convenient.

F F are the window-sash, with the panes therein. Each sash slides downinto a receptacle or casing,f, Fig. 5, made to receive it, in the backof a seat, and when within the casing its lower edge rests upon stops ff, Fig. l, secured within the back of the seat.

The upper edge of the sash projects sufficientl y above the back of theseat to allow a hand hold secured to its upper rail to be easily graspedwhen it is necessary to close the window. When the sash is being raised,its side edgesslide upward in rabbcts f f, Fig. 1, made for theiraccom'tnodation in the edges of the inside surfaces of the standards B,against which the sash rests, and when the sash is entirely up its upperedge enters a groove, f made in the lower edge of a side piece, fdepending from the roof of the car. After the sash has thus engaged inthe said groove its lower edge is moved outward, so as to rest upon theinclined flange c on the top of the back of the car-seat, as shown inFig. 4. When all of the side windows have been thus closed and thewindows in the end of the car also closed, the latter is virtually a carwith closed sides. The manner of arranging the seats to adapt the careither for summeror winter use is' evident from the foregoingdescription.

I am aware that cars have been made in which the seats were soconstructed that they could be either arranged transversely or longitudinally in relation to the car-body, and therefore I make no claimto embody that construction alone; but,

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is I 1. In'a street-car having itsfloor and its roof connected by vertical standards, a suitable number ofsimilar seats of proper size arranged and detachably secured intransverse rows to the car-floor, and arranged and detachably secured tothe car-floor against the car --standards in two opposite longitudinalrows, and having in their backs casings for the reception ofwindow-sashes of proper size to close when raisedthe portions of thespaces between the car-standards above the back of the seats,substantially as specified.

2. In a street-car, the combination of the equidistant verticalstandards connecting the roof and the floor thereof, the car-seatshaving casings for the window-sashes made in their backs, thewindow-sashes entering said casings when lowered and closing the spacesabove the back of the seats and between the standards when raised, andmeans, substantially as described, whereby the seats may be detachablysecured to the carfloor in transverse rows or in longitudinal rows, withtheir sashes F, entering and retained in said casing ILO and closingwhen raised the portion of the space between the standards B above theseats, and means,substantially as described, whereby the seats may bedetachably secured to the carfioor in transverse equidistant rows, or inlongitudinal rows, with their backs against the standards B,substantially as specified.

This specification signed and witnessed this 12th day of March,'1886.

WM. H. NELSON.

WVitnesses:

vJAMEs ELLIOTT, R. T. LUCAS, Jr.

